2020 Honda CR-V Problems

2020 Honda CR-V problems owners report most

2020 Honda CR-V problems are documented in public: owners have filed 354 complaints with NHTSA, the earliest in 2020 and the most recent in 2026. Sorting those by the component the filer named puts the forward collision avoidance clearly first, at 73 of the 354 complaints, about a fifth of everything filed.

A complaint is not a repair bill and not a defect finding. It is one owner telling the regulator something went wrong. What makes the count useful is the concentration: when one component takes 21 per cent of everything filed on a car, the pattern is doing more than chance.

Against the 2019 car, this model year has drawn 68 per cent fewer complaints (354 against 1,103). Both years are led by the forward collision avoidance, so this is a fault that carried over rather than one introduced with the 2020 car.

Of those complaints, 21 describe a crash and 2 describe a fire. Filers reported 17 injuries.

Recalls on the 2020 Honda CR-V

A recall means the manufacturer or the regulator found a safety defect, and the repair is free at a franchised dealer however old the car is. There are 7 recalls on this model year. Your own car may be covered by some, all or none of them, so check the VIN rather than the model.

In owners own words

These are complaints filed about the forward collision avoidance, quoted as written. They are one persons account rather than a diagnosis, and they are here because a symptom described by a driver is easier to recognise than a component name.

When driving at high speed on the highway, I have had instances of both FCW and/or AEB activating when there was no vehicle in front of me. This tends to happen without known cause and while I take the same route every day on my commute, the issue does not always occur. When FCW initiates with a large flashing BRAKE warning on the dash and loud beeping while at highway speeds, I am startled and second guess myself that I am not seeing something I am about to impact with. This creates confusion and can lead to making a maneuver or my braking in error which can cause a crash. This issue has occ

On August 15, 2024, around noon, I was stopped at a red light waiting for the light to turn green. When it finally did, I released my foot from the brake pedal and proceeded to accelerate. Not even 2 seconds later, I heard a beeping sound (from collision mitigation system) and my car abruptly stopped. There was no car in front of me and the car behind me was 2 car distances away. My car abruptly stopped on its own with no obstruction in sight in front or behind. I am very concerned to say the least and now feel unsafe driving my car especially since I drive my children around all the time. The

In March/April 2020 I was driving at 65 miles per hour on a rural highway. The only vehicles on the road were my car, the pickup in front of me and the pickup behind me. Since the highway was so quiet, I decided to try Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC). I set it for 65 miles per hour (the speed limit). We had been driving for about 15 minutes, each car maintaining the same speed and distance. The pickup in front of me turned on his turn signal for a right turn and entered the right turn lane. As my car approached the pickup, in the turn lane, the automatic braking system activated. I lung

The orange flashing rectangular "BRAKE" warning light on the dashboard display comes on intermittently and randomly while I am driving when there is NOTHING on the road or in front of the car warning me that the car will be braking itself. This has happened while driving 70 mph on the Interstate as well as on local roads going 30-40 mph and in all of these instances there has been nothing in the way of the car! No vehicles. No objects. Nothing. If I had not seen the warning light display on the dashboard and the automatic braking system would have stopped my car while driving 70 mph I cou

Every component, by complaint count

The full breakdown of what owners named when they filed. Components below the top ten are grouped out of this table.

What parts cost for the 2020 Honda CR-V

Prices read from one AutoZone store for this exact year, make and model, covering 8 kinds of part and 164 products. AutoZone year, make and model catalog prices. Engine, trim, transmission and VIN fitment are not confirmed. They are what the shelf said on the day, not a quote.

The cheapest way to keep it serviced

Taking the lowest listed price in each routine maintenance category, the filters, plugs and wipers for this car come to $68.95 in parts. That is parts alone, before labour, tax and the oil itself, and it assumes the cheapest option fits your engine.

Battery. 7 products listed, from the ACDelco Silver Group Size 47 Battery 47S at $179.99 up to the OPTIMA Yellow Top Group Size 47 / H5 Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) Battery DH5 at $359.99. A refundable core deposit of $22.00 is charged on top and returned with the old part. AutoZone's own labels account for 4 of them, starting at $179.99.

Brake rotors. 23 products listed, from the PowerStop Disc Brake Rotor JBR1721SCR at $39.99 up to the PowerStop Disc Brake Rotor Set JBR1750XPR at $211.99. AutoZone's own labels account for 4 of them, starting at $90.99.

Brake pads. 40 products listed, from the PowerStop Z16 Evolution Ceramic Performance Brake Pads 16-2037 at $29.99 up to the EBC Yellowstuff High Friction Organic Performance Brake Pads DP43085R at $195.99. AutoZone's own labels account for 11 of them, starting at $39.99.

Fitment is by year, make and model only. Engine, trim and transmission were not selected, so confirm the part number against your own car before buying. Prices change and vary by store.

How other model years compare

The same nameplate across the years we hold. Complaint counts fall naturally for newer cars because fewer of them have been on the road for long, so read the column as a rough signal rather than a ranking. In this set the 2018 Honda CR-V has drawn the most complaints and the 2021 Honda CR-V the fewest.

What to check on the driver assistance systems

These reports are mostly about the car braking hard for something that was not there, or the system switching itself off and refusing to come back. Both happen more in rain, low sun and on roads with overhead signs.

Buying a used 2020 CR-V

Check that every assistance system reports as available rather than disabled. A camera or radar that has been turned off in software is easy to miss during a test drive and expensive to put right.

If you already own one

Ask about calibration before replacing any sensor. These systems need recalibrating after a windscreen change, an alignment or any front end work, and an uncalibrated sensor produces exactly the faults described above.

• Confirm every assistance system reports as available, not disabled.
• Ask whether the windscreen has been replaced and the camera recalibrated.
• Check for front end repair history that would need a radar calibration.
• Ask whether a software update addresses the behaviour.